Full-revolving bridge cranes



8- 6 M. amanauxu ETAL 3,459,311

FULL-REVOLVING BRIDGE CRANES Filed June 28, 1.967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B- 5, 1969 M. s. AVERBUKH ETAL 3,459,311

FULL-REVOLVING BRIDGE CRANES Filed June 28, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,459,311 FULL-REVOLVING BRIDGE CRANES Mark Borisovich Averbukh, ul. Gasheka 12, kv. 158; Grigory Movshevich Volchek, Izumrudnaya ul. 6, kv. 13; Vladimir Epifanovich Gora, Tatarskaya ul. 9-a, kv. 65; Isaak Markovich Elinson, Verkhnyaya Maslovka 11/13, kv. 11; Nikolai Konstantinovich Leonidov, ul. 1812 goda 7, kv. 45; Nikolai Vladimirovich M0- lochnikov, Prospekt Mira 103, kv. 227; Ber Simkhovich Kheifets, Prospekt Mira 188, Korp. 2, kv. 150; and Alexandr-Sever Julievich Shpigel, Novobasmannaya ul. 14, kv. 51, all of Moscow, U.S.S.R.

Filed June 28, 1967, Ser. No. 649,549 Int. Cl. B66c 17/02 US. Cl. 212- 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bridge crane for servicing circular areas wherein the crane comprises a closed circular crane track disposed around the area being serviced, a bridge travelling along said crane track and having a longitudinal axis constantly disposed along a chord of the circle of the crane track, said chord passing at such a distance from the center of the track that the bridge does not touch the object being serviced. A load trolley is mounted to travel along the bridge.

The present invention relates to infra-factory transport facilities and, in particular, to full-revolving bridge cranes, such as those operating around a blast furnace.

Known in the art are bridge cranes servicing a circular area therebeneath, and wherein a bridge carrying a load trolley travels on supporting rollers along a circular crane track.

The employment of such cranes is not always possible, especially, when the height of an object to be serviced, e.g. a blast furnace, is great. In such conditions bridge cranes are usually employed, whose bridge travels along two concentric crane tracks, one of which is installed near the object and the other at some distance from it. The speeds of the rollers moving along the inner and outer crane tracks are not equal and the different speeds of the rollers are attained by proper selection of reduction ratios of the traveling gears or by the provision of rollers of different diameters on concentric crane tracks.

A disadvantage of such bridge cranes with two crane tracks resides in the fact that the inner track may fall within hot or hazardous areas if the cranes in question service objects having high temperature zones, e.g. blast furnaces, or objects operated under high voltage and hazardous due to harmful radiation, e.g. a synchro-phasotron.

Another disadvantage of the above cranes is that the inner crane track is often installed on the object proper, thereby making access difiicult.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above disadvantages by providing a fullrevolving bridge crane capable of servicing an object of a required height, e.g. blast furnace or synchro-phasotron, whose traveling gear is beyond a hazardous area.

Provision is also made for avoiding the need for connecting a crane track to the object to be serviced.

The invention consists in providing a bridge crane with a bridge movable along a circular crane track, wherein the bridge axis is disposed along the chord of the crane track circle, said chord passing at such a distance from the center of the circle that the bridge does not touch the object being serviced.

It is expedient that the crane bridge comprise at least two span beams parallel to its longitudinal axis, along which beams there travel load trolleys and whose length equals that of the respective chords of the crane track circle, and two end beams which carry supporting rollers and connect the ends of the main beams, said end beams being at an acute angle to the main beams.

In another embodiment of the bridge crane provision is made for employment of its load trolley during the change of tuyeres in the blast furnace.

It is advisable that the bridge crane in this case consist of two end beams parallel to its longitudinal axis and equal in length to the respective chords of the crane track, as well as carrying the supporting rollers on the ends, and two span beams along which travels the load trolley and which are at right angles to the end beams and parallel to the radius of the crane track passing through the trolleys center line.

Two exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a first embodiment of the full-revolving bridge crane according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a section taken on line II-II as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line IIIIII as in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the bridge crane according to the invention.

The first embodiment of the full-revolving bridge crane for servicing a blast furnace 1 (FIG. 1) has a bridge 2 traveling along a monorail circular crane track 3 laid around the blast furnace 1.

Axis 4 of the bridge 2 is disposed along the chord of the circle of the crane track 3, passing at such a distance from the center 0 of this circle that the bridge 2 does not touch the blast furnace 1.

The bridge 2 consists of two span beams 5 and 6 arallel to its axis 4 and end beams 7 and 8 rigidly connected with the latter.

Supporting rollers 9, 10, 11 and 12 of equal diameter are mounted in the end beams 7 and 8, horizontal rolls 13 (FIG. 2) being provided on the sides of said supporting rollers to hold the latter on the rail of the crane track 3.

Either of the span beams 5 and 6 has a length equal to that of a respective chord of the crane track 3 circle.

The end beams 7 and 8 connect the ends of the span beams 5 and 6, are disposed at an angle to the latter and have a curvature corresponding to that of the crane track 3, however, said span beams 5 and 6 can also be made straight.

The magnitude of the angle between the end beams 7 and 8 and the span beams 5 and 6 depends upon the distance of the latter from the center 0 of the track 3 circle.

Mounted on the end beams 7 and 8 are mechanisms 14 and 15 (FIG. 1) for setting the supporting rollers in motion.

Fixed along the span beams 5 and 6 are rails 14w (FIG. 13) and 15 on which load trolleys 16 and 17 travel.

Each trolley 16 or 17 consists of a frame 18 (FIG. 3) mounted on Wheel pairs 19 and 20 and carrying a mechanism 21 for producing trolley travel and a lifting mechanism 22.

The lifting mechanism 22 has a drum 23 (FIG. 3) on which a rope 24 is wound, carrying a hook 25 or other load gripping mechanism for servicing the blast furnace 1.

The frames 18 of the trolleys 16 and 17 can have side cut offs (not shown in the drawing) corresponding to the curvature of the track 3 and the curvature of the end beams 7 and 8. Such an embodiment of the trolley frames helps to extend the service area of the bridge crane.

The second embodiment of the bridge crane illustrated in FIG. 4 features the bridge 2 consisting of two end beams 26 and 27 disposed along the parallel chords of the circle of the monorail crane track 3 concentric with 3 respect to the blast furnace 1 perimeter, and two span beams 28 and 29, with a load trolley 30 adapted for moving along the latter.

The span beams 28 and 29 are at right angles to the end beams 26 and 27 and parallel to a radius R of the crane track 3 passing through the center line 31 of the trolley 30, which arrangement ensures the travel of the load trolley 30 along the radius R of the blast furnace 1.

This radial travel of the trolley makes it possible to mechanize the lifting and carrying operations required for servicing the blast furnace and, in particular, the replacement of the tuyeres disposed along the perimeter of the blast furnace (said tuyeres not being shown in the drawing).

Either of the end beams 26 and 27 rests on the crane track 3 through balanced trolleys 32 fitted with supporting rollers 33.

The crane traveling gears are mounted obliquely on the balanced trolleys, one gear on each end beam and on the opposite ends of the bridge, so as to preclude skidding of the driving supporting rollers whatever the disposition of the load trolley on the bridge.

We claim:

1. A full-revolving bridge crane for servicing circular areas, said crane comprising a closed circular crane track disposed around an object being serviced; a bridge traveling along said crane track and having a longitudinal axis constantly disposed along a chord of the circle of said crane track, said chord passing at such a distance from the center of said track that the bridge does not touch the 4 object being serviced; and a load trolley traveling along said bridge.

2. A bridge crane as claimed in claim 1, in which the bridge comprises at least two span beams parallel to its longitudinal axis, the load trolleys traveling along said beams which are equal in length to respective chords of the circle of said crane track, and two end beams which carry supporting rollers and connect the ends of said span beams, said end beams being at an angle to said span beams.

3. A bridge crane as claimed in claim 1, in which the bridge comprises two end beams equal in length to the respective chords of the circle of said crane track, said end beams carrying supporting rollers at their ends, and two span beams along which said load trolley travels and which are at right angles to said end beams and parallel to a radius of said track passing through the center of said trolley.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,065,091 6/ 1913 Wittmann 10438 FOREIGN PATENTS 662,116 7/ 1938 Germany. 664,025 8/ 1938 Germany.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner HARVEY C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner 

